Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips pumps his fist to fans after the win.

Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips pumps his fist to fans after the win.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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Texans linebacker Whitney Mercilus puts his helmet on during warmups.

Texans linebacker Whitney Mercilus puts his helmet on during warmups.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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Texans defensive end J.J. Watt prepares for the start of the game against the Titans.

Texans defensive end J.J. Watt prepares for the start of the game against the Titans.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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Texans fan Herman Eagleton of Houston, gestures to other fans in the stadium as the teams warm up.

Texans fan Herman Eagleton of Houston, gestures to other fans in the stadium as the teams warm up.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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Texans fans watch as the teams warm up prior to kickoff.

Texans fans watch as the teams warm up prior to kickoff.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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Vicki and David Snokhous along with Lauri and William Baker, all from Houston, show their Texan pride in Nashville.

Vicki and David Snokhous along with Lauri and William Baker, all from Houston, show their Texan pride in Nashville.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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Houston lands berth in playoffs with win

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Only three-fourths of the way through the regular season, the Houston Texans already are one-third of the way to where they wanted to be when the year began.

Playing with a Super Bowl-or-bust mentality since the first day of training camp, their plan was to make the playoffs, win the AFC South and secure home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

That playoff berth is now guaranteed after Sunday's 24-10 beatdown of the slumping Tennessee Titans that set a franchise-record for victories in a season.

The 11-1 Texans used six sacks, six forced turnovers and a pair of early Matt Schaub touchdown passes to win their sixth in a row, the second most in the team's 11-season history.

“Boy, we battled all day,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. “Just proud of the guys for finding a way to get it done.”

They'll take a 6-0 road record into the Monday night battle at New England, the game of the season in the AFC and one that will go a long way toward ensuring the road to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans leads through Reliant Stadium. The defending AFC champion Patriots, 9-3, also won their sixth in a row Sunday, beating the Dolphins 23-16 in Miami to clinch the AFC East.

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Should the teams end up with the same record, the head-to-head outcome determines which one hosts in the playoffs.

The Texans haven't locked up the division title, however.

Houston native Andrew Luck led the 8-4 Colts to a near-miraculous comeback victory over Detroit. The Texans play Indianapolis twice over the last three weekends.

Wade Phillips' injury-riddled pass defense again endured some tense moments late in Nashville after Shayne Graham's 50-yard field goal had provided a 17-point lead. But Titans penalties and the six turnovers the Texans forced (a franchise record) ultimately did in the team that used to call Houston home.

Schaub, who is 15-1 over his last 16 starts, found Lestar Jean for a 54-yard scoring strike on the opening series, and the Texans never trailed. James Casey's touchdown catch and a 2-yard touchdown run by Arian Foster built a 21-3 halftime lead, as the Texans yielded only a 37-yard Rob Bironas field goal.

The Texans led 24-3 before Jake Locker threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. Locker later got the Titans as close as the Texans' 7 on a later possession, but he slipped on fourth down trying to scramble from J.J. Watt's clutches, and the defensive lineman smothered him 12 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Watt also forced a fumble — his first of the season and the first of those six takeaways — while finishing with three tackles for losses plus two pass deflections and two quarterback hits.

When he swatted down a Locker pass in the third quarter, Watt became the first NFL defensive lineman with as many as 14 passes defensed in a single season. He had been tied with the late Reggie White, a Hall-of-Famer.

“To break Reggie White's record is incomprehensible,” said Watt, a Wisconsin native.

Locker completed only eight of his first 24 first-half passes on what began as a frustrating day for the new Titans offensive coordinator, the 32-year-old Dowell Loggains, who replaced the fired Chris Palmer this past week.

Locker caught fire late, however, burning the Texans with second-half completions of 49 and 38 yards in addition to Britt's scoring catch. He wound up 21 of 45 for 309 yards but threw three interceptions, the last of them by Darryl Sharpton that ensured there would be no late heroics.

Tennessee fell to 4-8 with its fourth loss in five games, leaving coach Mike Munchak, the Hall-of-Famer and former Houston Oiler, fighting to save his job after going 9-7 in his first year.